Dakhni (Urdu:
دکنی ;Hindi:
दक्खिनी dakkʰinī), also known
as Dakkhani, Deccani (Urdu:
دکنی), is a dialect of the Urdu language, was
spoken in the Deccan region of southern India, centered on the cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai. There is an extensive
literature in this dialect, but it has fallen out of use in recent
times.

Dakhni was the lingua franca of the Muslims of South
India, chiefly living in Hyderabad state and
further south. Though it is considered as a dialect of Urdu, it
constitutes the traits of a different language in its own sense.
Deccani was widely spoken across the South Indian peninsula with
subtle changes in the dialect as you go down south away from
Hyderabad.

Dakhni Urdu mainly spoken by the Muslims
living in these areas can also be divided into 2 dialects: